, also known as , is a religion founded in the 1890s by Deguchi Nao (1836âÂÂ1918) and Deguchi Onisaburà  (1871âÂÂ1948). Oomoto is typically categorized as a Shinto-based Japanese new religion. The spiritual leaders of the movement have always been women within the Deguchi family, along with Onisaburà  as its founding seishi (spiritual teacher). Since 2001, the movement has been guided by its fifth leader, Kurenai Deguchi.
Oomoto's administrative headquarters is in Kameoka, Kyoto (Onisaburo Deguchi's hometown), and its spiritual headquarters is in Ayabe, Kyoto (Nao Deguchi's hometown). Uniquely among Japanese religions, Oomoto makes extensive use of the constructed language Esperanto to promote itself as a world religion. Oomoto has historically engaged in extensive interfaith dialogue with religions such as the BaháüàFaith, Christianity, and Islam, since a key tenet of Oomoto is that all religions come from the same source (in Japanese: ).
Oomoto was brutally suppressed by the Japanese government in 1921 and again in 1935, since the government perceived it to be a threat to its authority. After World War II, Oomoto was fully legalized as a registered religious organization. Various other religions have also been founded by former followers of Oomoto, most notably Seicho-No-Ie and the Church of World Messianity.
In 1892, Deguchi Nao, a housewife from the town of Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture, declared that she had a "spirit dream" during the Japanese New Year. She became possessed (kamigakari) by Ushitora no Konjin (è®ã®éÂÂç¥Â) and started to transmit the kami's words. According to the official Oomoto biography of Deguchi, she came from a family which had long been in poverty, and had pawned nearly all of her possessions to feed her children and invalid husband. After 1895, and with a growing number of followers, Deguchi Nao briefly affiliated herself with the Konkà Âkyà  religion until 1897, since she did not yet have government approval for her religious movement.
In 1898, Deguchi Nao met Ueda Kisaburà Â, who had previous studies in kamigakari (spirit possession). In 1899, they established the Kinmeikai together, which became the Kinmei Reigakkai later in the same year. In 1900, Kisaburà  married Nao's fifth daughter Sumiko and adopted the name Deguchi Onisaburà Â. Oomoto was thus established based on Nao's automatic writings (Ofudesaki) and Onisaburà Â's spiritual techniques.
Since 1908, the group has taken diverse names â Dai Nihon Shà «seikai (大æÂ¥æ¬修é½ÂæÂÂ), Taihonkyà  (1913), and Kà Âdà  à Âmoto (çÂÂéÂÂ大æ¬) (1916). Later, the movement changed from Kà Âdà  à Âmoto ("great origin of the imperial way") to just à Âmoto (大æ¬, "great origin") and formed the Shà Âwa Seinenkai in 1929 and the Shà Âwa Shinseikai (æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂç¥ÂèÂÂä¼Â) in 1934.
, a teacher at , attracted various intellectuals and high-ranking military officials to the movement in 1916. By 1920, the group had their own newspaper, the Taishà  nichinichi shinbun (大æ£æÂ¥æÂ¥æ°èÂÂ), and started to expand overseas. Much of its popularity derived from a method of inducing spirit possession called chinkon kishin (é®éÂÂ帰ç¥Â), which was most widely practiced from 1916 to 1921. Following a police crackdown, Onisaburà  banned chinkon kishin in 1923. Today, in present-day Oomoto, only the chinkon (é®éÂÂ) aspect is practiced as a form of meditation, but not the kishin (帰ç¥Â) aspect of spirit possession.
In March 1920, the à Âmoto-affiliated magazine Shinrei published an edition of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Japanese for the first time.
Alarmed by the popularity of Oomoto, the Imperial Japanese government, which promoted kokutai, State Shinto, and reverence for the emperor, condemned the sect for worshipping Ookunitokotachi above Amaterasu, the sun goddess from whom the Emperor of Japan claimed descent. This led to two major incidents when Oomoto was persecuted under the lèse-majesté law, the , and the Public Security Preservation Law of 1925. In 1921, the first resulted in the Oomoto headquarters being destroyed, and Onisaburo and a few of his followers were imprisoned.
From 1925 until 1933, Oomoto maintained a mission in Paris. From there, missionaries travelled throughout Europe, spreading the word that Onisaburo Deguchi was a Messiah or Maitreya who would unify the world.
In 1924, retired naval captain Yutaro Yano and his associates within the Black Dragon Society invited Onisaburo to embark on a journey to Mongolia. Onisaburo led a group of Oomoto disciples, including Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. They were captured by the forces of Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin, but were released upon realizing they were Japanese nationals. After returning to Japan, Onisaburo established the secular organization Jinrui Aizenkai (人é¡ÂæÂÂÃ¥ÂÂä¼Â), also known as Universal Love and Brotherhood (ULBA), to promote universal brotherhood and world peace. Religious organizations from around the world, including the BaháüàFaith, Cao Dai, Red Swastika Society, and Universal White Brotherhood, joined this movement.
In 1935, the Second Oomoto Incident again left its headquarters in ruins and its leaders in prison. This incident was carried out far more intensively than the previous one in 1921, as the Japanese government sought to completely eradicate all traces of Oomoto shrines and materials. Oomoto was effectively outlawed until the end of World War II. With the Second Oomoto Incident, Oomoto became the first religious organization to be prosecuted under the Public Security Preservation Law of 1925.
After World War II, Oomoto reappeared as Aizen-en (æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂèÂÂ), a movement dedicated to achieve world peace which was led by Onisaburo Deguchi's eldest grandson Yasuaki Deguchi (). It was registered in 1946 under the Religious Corporations Ordinance. Yasuaki Deguchi considered Onisaburo rather than Nao to be the main founder of the religion, and thus used Onisaburo's Reikai Monogatari as its main scripture.
In 1949, Oomoto joined the World Federalist Movement and the World Peace campaign. In 1952, the group returned to its older name, becoming the religious corporation Oomoto under the Religious Corporations Law. Since then, Oomoto has opened various international branches, including Oomoto do Brasil (headquartered in Jandira, São Paulo, Brazil).
Oomoto's spiritual leaders, all of whom belong to the Deguchi () family, are:
Oomoto's spiritual headquarters, called Baishà Â-en (), is in Ayabe, Kyoto, due to its association with Nao Deguchi's founding of the religion in Ayabe. However, its administrative headquarters, called Ten'on-kyà  (), is in Kameoka, Kyoto. Oomoto also has a mission center, called Tà Âkà Â-en (), in Taità Â, Tokyo.
The two main scriptures (basic kyà Âten æ ¹æ¾ÂÂå ¸) used in Oomoto are:
Of the two, the Reikai Monogatari is by far the most commonly consulted and used scripture in present-day Oomoto.
Next in importance are two scriptures (kyà Âten æÂÂå ¸) composed by Onisaburo Deguchi during the first decade of the 20th century, namely () and ().
There are also various other less commonly used texts, such as Izunome Shin'yu (ä¼Âé½è½売ç¥Âè«Â, 37 volumes, composed during 1918âÂÂ1919), and the Three Mirrors or San Kagami (ä¸Âé¡, 844 chapters total) by Onisaburo Deguchi, which consists of the Water Mirror (æ°´é¡, 249 chapters), Moon Mirror (æÂÂé¡, 212 chapters), and Jade Mirror (çÂÂé¡, 383 chapters).
Oomoto has numerous sacred sites, some of which are:
Four major are held for each of the four seasons.
Oomoto and its adherents promote Japanese arts and culture, such as Noh theater, calligraphy, ceramics, and the tea ceremony. According to Onisaburo Deguchi, . This perspective was also shared by Oomoto follower Mokichi Okada, who founded both the Church of World Messianity and the MOA Museum of Art in Atami.
The constructed language Esperanto plays a major role in the Oomoto religion. Starting from the early 1920s, the religion has published a large amount of literature in Esperanto. Onisaburo Deguchi reportedly introduced Esperanto back when he had interfaith dialogues with the BaháüàFaith in 1921. Many Oomoto facilities in Kameoka, Kyoto have multilingual signs in Japanese and Esperanto. Today, Oomoto continues to publish numerous books, periodicals, pamphlets, and websites in Esperanto; some materials (translation of Japanese texts, etc.) are actually more extensive in Esperanto than in English.
The creator of Esperanto, L. L. Zamenhof, is revered in Oomoto as a kami. The Oomoto affirmation of Zamenhof's enshrinement as a kami is stated, in Esperanto, as follows:
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The text above as translated into English is:
<blockquote> ...[T]he spirit of Zamenhof even now continues to act as a missionary of the angelic kingdom; therefore, his spirit was deified in the Senrei-sha shrine. </blockquote>
The , also known as the (), states that:
The original Japanese text of the is:
The fundamental ways to reach God are called the :
are:
are:
A core Oomoto teaching is:
Oomoto is essentially a neo-Shinto religious movement. Oomoto doctrine has also integrated teachings and modern ideas on world harmony and peace.
In Oomoto, the one supreme God who created the universe is called Oomoto-sume-oomikami ( or ). means "Great Origin", means "govern", and means "God". All are considered to be manifestations of this one God. In an account from the Reikai Monogatari, the universe began with the sudden advent of "" (). It then develops into "" (). This is the of and is the great origin of God.
Members of Oomoto believe in several , which are minor deities or spirits. The most important are Ushitora no Konjin, the of Nao Deguchi's initial divine possession in 1892; Ookunitokotachi; and Hitsujisaru. Various religious figures from other religions, or even notable non-religious figures, are recognized as âÂÂfor example, the creator of Esperanto, L. L. Zamenhof.
Oomoto's goal is the realization of the world of Miroku or ('the world to come'), which means heaven in the real world. It is expressed in various ways, such as (mentioned at the beginning of the Oomoto Shin'yu), "purification of the world", "the opening of Amano-Iwato of the world", "the world of clear quartz", and so on.
Oomoto recognizes two realms, the physical world and the , both of which are interconnected. In turn, the spiritual world consists of three parts:
Nao Deguchi's prophecies stated that events which occur in Ayabe would also occur in Japan or throughout the world. The Japanese government's suppression of Oomoto, consisting of the 1921 and 1935 Oomoto incidents, is considered to have been an omen of World War II and the consequent destruction of Japan.
In Oomoto, a prayer is often recited before meals, after which "itadakimasu" is said. The prayer consists of three tanka poems (known in Japanese as the "Three-Poem Song" ä¸Âé¦Âã®ãÂÂæÂÂ) composed by Oomoto's second spiritual leader, Sumiko Deguchi (1883âÂÂ1952). In 1976, Oomoto's third spiritual leader Naohi Deguchi adopted the prayer for use before meals. The prayer in Japanese, along with a literal English translation, is as follows.
The official Esperanto and Portuguese translations of the prayer, which do not always follow the exact meaning of the Japanese original, are:
One of the more well-known followers of Oomoto was Morihei Ueshiba, a Japanese martial artist and the founder of Aikido. It is commonly thought that Ueshiba's increasing attachment to pacifism in later years and belief that Aikido should be an "art of peace" were inspired by his involvement with the sect. Oomoto priests oversee a ceremony in Ueshiba's honor every April 29 at the Aiki Shrine at Iwama.
Onisaburo Deguchi taught a type of meditation and spirit possesssion technique called chinkon kishin (é®éÂÂ帰ç¥Â) to some of his most devoted followers, many of whom went on to establish their own religions. They include:
More recent Oomoto followers during the late 20th and 21st centuries include:
Various religions have been inspired by Oomoto, many of which were founded by Oomoto followers familiar with () as practiced in Oomoto. Since Oomoto believes that , these other new religious movements are not seen as heretical, but are in fact even encouraged.
Many of these religions have meditation and divine healing practices derived from Oomoto's . They include:
Various practices and teachings in Makoto no Michi are inspired by Oomoto, including similar spirit possession practices. Makoto no Michi's sacred geography is derived from that of the Reikai Monogatari, in which Japan is viewed as a of the world. Hokkaido is viewed as the equivalent of North America, Honshu as Eurasia, Shikoku as Australia, Kyushu as Africa, Taiwan as South America, and so on; these equivalences stem from their common mythical origins during the creation of the world. The geographic equivalents of the main Japanese islands and Taiwan with the world's continents are identical in both Oomoto and Makoto no Michi.
Publications from the Oomoto Foundation: